Apparatus for pouring steel ingots



E. SEIIDEL' Filed Aug. 3, 1931 s Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. 22, 1933.

APPARATUS FOR POURING STEEL INGOTS fir w Aug. 22, 1933. Em L 1,923,119

APPARATUS FOR POURING STEEL INGOTS FiledAug. 3. 1931 3 SheetsSheet 5 Patented Aug. 22, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR POURING STEEL INGOTS Edward Seidel, Youngstown, Ohio Application August 3, 1931. Serial No. 554,876

1 Claim. (01. 22-84) This invention relates to processes and apparatus for pouring steel ingots and has for an object to provide a nozzle which will produce an ingot embodying the desirable characteristics of a bottom cast ingot while actually pouring from the top with resultant speed and economy of the open top method of pouring.

A further object is to provide a nozzle which will be comparatively long so as to reach nearly to the bottom of the mold and will be constructed of such materials as to prevent chilling of the steel during passage therethrough so that the nozzle will be clean after each operation and will permit of sufficient friction to slow up the travel of the steel down the nozzle so that splashing will be positively eliminated.

A. still further further object is to provide a novel holder for attaching the nozzle to the ladle so as to be easily and quickly detached in case temperature trouble or stopper trouble develops.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists in certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, it being understood that various modiflcations may be resorted to Within the scope of the appended claim without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the nozzle applied to a ladle and showing a mold in cross section, Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a fragmentary end elevation of the nozzle and holder,

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view through the nozzle showing the reinforcing members embedded therein,

Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the reinforcing members assembled,

Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 66 of Fig. 1, with the mold removed,

Fig. 7 is a front elevation of a dual assembly of nozzles constructed in accordance with my invention,

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the dual holder shown in Fig. 7, and

Fig. 9 is a detail cross sectional view taken on the line9--9 of Fig. 7.

Referring now to the drawings in which like characters of reference designate similar parts in the various views, the nozzle 10 is preferably formed of a mixture of graphite, fire clay and silica sodium baked hard, which composition exhibits very great heat-retaining qualities as well as wear-resisting qualities, and which furthermore has been found in practice to eliminate practically all silicate condition, as it is devoid of gritty particles. The nozzle is substantially cylindrical for the major portion of its length, and, at a point near the upper end, it gradually tapers outwardly, as shown at 11, and beyond the tapered portion is uniformly enlarged, as shown at 12. The nozzle is formed with the usual axial bore 13, the top of which is enlarged to provide a countersink 14 to receive the spout 15, shown in Fig. 1, which projects from the bottom of the ladle l6.-

The nozzle is reinforced internally with longitudinal wires 17, as best shown in Figs. 4 and 5, 7 these wires being connected at intervals by wire rings 18 which bind the wires together as a unit.

In further carrying out the invention, I provide a holder for the nozzle, preferably formed of cast iron or highcarbon steel and comprising a pair of similar sections 19 which are bolted together, as shown at 20, to envelop the upper end of the nozzle, both sections being provided with a taper 21 at the lower end of the bore to snugly receive the tapered portion 11 of the noz- 30 zle and prevent the nozzle slipping downwardly through the sections. Both sections are provided at opposite sides with lateral wings or shoulders 22 which are adapted to engage the top edges of a mold 23 which may be used as a jack when the nozzle holder is not in use to support the nozzle holder, as best shown in Fig. 1.

Both sections are also provided, above the wings at opposite sides thereof, with lateral flanges 24, best shown in Figs. 1 and 2, which may be bolted together at the ends, as shown at 25, and further secured together by pins 26.

The flanges 24 are provided with orifices to receive downwardly extending pins 2''! carried by the ladle. These pins project below the bottom edges of the flanges 24 and are orificed to receive wedges 28 upon which the flanges bear, as shown in Fig. 3. It will be observed by simply knocking out the wedges the nozzle will drop I from the ladle in the event temperature trouble or stopper trouble develops.

The wings 22 of both sections are bolted together, as shown at 29, so that the sections of the holder are firmly united by these bolts as well as the bolts 20 and bolts 25. I

In Fig. 7 there is shown a dual assembly of nozzles for pouring two ingots simultaneously. In this embodiment of the invention, both noz zles 30 are identical in construction with the nozzle 10 above described. The dual holders 31, how- 110 ever, are connected by webs 32 which extend in alinement with the lateral wings 33 of the holders and coact with the wings in supporting the ladle upon the top edges of a pair of molds 34 which form jacks for the nozzle when the latter is not in use.

The webs 32, as best shown in Figs. 7 and 9, are provided with angle irons 35 which are removably secured to the webs by means of pins 36 passed through the angle irons and through the webs and held in place by wedges 3'7. Both angle irons 35 are orificed to receive pins 38 which extend downwardly from the bottom of the ladle and are removably secured to the angle irons by means of wedges 39.

The holders are also provided with flanges 40 above the wings 32, which are orificed to receive pins 41 which extend downwardly from the bottom of the ladle and which are removably secured to the flanges 40 by means of wedges 42. The holders are formed in sections, as best shown in Fig. 8, which are bolted together by bolts, designated in general by the numeral 43. Holes 44 are provided for handling.

In case either nozzle develops trouble, the nozzle that is giving the trouble may be detached by knocking out one wedge 37 and one wedge 42, as will be understood.

In operation, by referring to Fig. 1, the ladle is first raised about an inch or so to permit this much clearance between the bottom of the nozzle and the bottom of the mold. Thereupon the stopper 15 is removed in the usual manner. The travel of the steel downwardly in the nozzle will be slowed up by the length of the nozzle and the friction created therein by the particular composition employed in the construction of the nozzle, as above explained, so that splashing will be prevented. As the pouring continues, the ladle is raised to gradually increase the height of the nozzle from the bottom of the mold 23, so that a high temperature will be maintained at the level of the molten metal as it gradually creeps up in the mold so that the resultant ingot will be smooth skinned and devoid of the usual imperfection to be found in top cast ingots.

It will be.particularly pointed out that the speed in pouring is about the same as the usual speed of top pouring while, at the same time, the actual pouring is from the bottom up, corresponding to the usual bottom cast ingot, which is found in practice to give the best ingot, since it will be observed that the length of the nozzle permits of the ingot actually being bottom cast.

After the steel has accumulated in the mold to the desired height, the pourer can shut off and lift out over to the next mold in the usual manner and, by virtue of the ingredients used in the composition of the nozzle, as well as the length of the nozzle, it will be found that the canal or bore of the nozzle is clean and ready for the next pouring operation.

It will be pointed out that the nozzle and holder above described may be used on any ladle now in use, it being simply necessary to install the securing pins to the bottom of the ladle for receiving the wedges.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

Apparatus for pouring steel ingots comprising a ladle, a nozzle of sufiicient length to extend nearly to the bottom of a mold over which the ladle may be superposed, said nozzle having a smooth axial channel, said nozzle being formed of heatresistant material to maintain high temperatures, a holder for the nozzle detachably secured to the ladle, and lateral wings on the holder adapted to span the ingot mold and support the nozzle at its lowest limit of movement in the mold during the pouring operation with the bottom of the nozzle spaced slightly from the bottom of the mold.

EDWARD SEIDEL. [L. 8.] 

